Favorite Schools

Favorite Teams

Michigan

Change Region

comments

5 great ideas to improve Muskegon ... now the city just has to find the money

MF Wind Storm GINA ANDERSON ASHLIE GARZA.jpg

You don't have to be a senior citizen this winter to have problems making it around downtown Muskegon with all of the snow. Snow removal downtown especially for seniors was one of the sugggested uses for city of Muskegon federal community development funds.
(Chronicle file photo)

MUSKEGON, MI – After two public hearings on Muskegon’s federal community development funding, the city ended up with more ideas than money.

The city’s Community and Neighborhood Services Department reached out to citizens in determining how it should spend $1.1 million in federal funds from the Community Development Block Grant and HOME programs.

Realistically, the city has only about 10-15 percent of its federal allocation as discretionary funding as existing housing programs will be refunded, CNS Director Oneata Bailey said. But with $150,000 a year, the city can make a significant difference with a new initiative, she said.

At the end of two hearings Thursday morning and afternoon Jan. 23, city staff had plenty of ideas but five rose to the surface as being potential targets of the federal funds. Activities and projects could receive other city funding outside of the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development allocations, city officials said.

Here are five intriguing and challenging suggestions:

Downtown snow removal for senior citizens

Maggie Jensen’s effort to take her elderly mother to an event this winter at the Frauenthal Theater in downtown Muskegon was difficult due to the lack of snow removal in the central business district. Jensen, who is with Senior Resources of West Michigan, suggests federal funds be spent on snow removal or, better yet, initiate a sidewalk snow-melt system for the heart of downtown.

“In the next 30 years, seniors are going to drive the economy,” Jensen said of the aging of the Baby Boomer generation. “We want the seniors in downtown Muskegon. We don’t want to get the reputation that we are senior unfriendly.”

A diversified mix of residential home options in city neighborhoods

Both Muskegon Lakeshore Chamber of Commerce President Cindy Larsen and Community enCompass Executive Director Sarah Rinsema-Sybenga spoke of the need for a variety of home options in city neighborhoods.

“We have a talent shortage in Muskegon,” Larsen said of jobs that will attract young, skilled workers. “These young technology workers need a place to live and city neighborhoods are a high priority of ours.”

Said Rinsema-Sybenga: “It’s a shame that some people are looking to live downtown but unable to find housing. Sometimes affordable housing has a negative implication. But these are working families we are talking about.”

Neighborhood association collaboration/Nims playground

Bunker Middle School eighth grade student Shalonda Williams cleared leaves in 2011 at the McLaughlin Neighborhood park at the corner of Isabella Avenue and Terrace Street. It was part of a pre-Earth Day class project. Ken Stevens | ksteven2@mlive.com

McLaughlin Neighborhood Association President Tom Pastoor suggested the city needs to invest in building relationships among the city’s neighborhood associations, where McLaughlin and Nelson neighborhoods might join forces to do a project in Lakeside.

“Give us a pot of money to create a project and we will get to all of the neighborhoods over the course of five years,” Pastoor said. “It is not about the money but bringing people together. The biggest outcome will be for us to get to know each other.”

And Jen Sanocki of the Nims Neighborhood has a perfect first project – creation of a small neighborhood playground on the former Nims School property as the school’s closure removed the neighborhood’s only playground. Sanocki and the neighborhood association are pushing to raise $12,000 for equipment that could lead to a Muskegon Public Schools land deal with the city to provide the space for the playground.

Improved link between downtown and Lake Michigan beaches

Among her contemporaries, Kris Collee of the Children’s Food Basket said there is interest in improving the linkage between the central business district and Pere Marquette Park. The route is neither easy nor pretty.

“These are two of our greatest assets,” said Collee, one of the MLive 40 under 40 recent honorees. “If we call people to one, we need to get them to the other. It is something a lot of the young-gen’s are talking about.”

A city-supported “time bank”

Finally, Jackson-Hill Neighborhood’s Brian Clincy suggested that many in the neighborhoods have time to offer the community. People can volunteer to help the community and their neighbors to build up “work credits” that can be used to get someone to work for them, he suggested.

“In my neighborhood, people have more time than money,” Clincy said. “I think the city needs to look into time banking.”

Bailey said that all of the ideas generated at the Thursday conversations will be shared with City Hall staff and City Manager Frank Peterson. The city’s Citizens District Council will work with Bailey to come up with a recommendation for allocation of the city’s federal funding for a final decision by the Muskegon City Commission in the spring.

The Citizens District Council meets Feb. 4 at 5:30 p.m. at City Hall, 933 Terrace St. The city commission has a goal-setting session Feb. 7 where the citizen ideas could be discussed with city staff.